While helping a great cause, Scott Ressmeyer said he learned a valuable lesson about travel.

He said, "I think I was actually at dinner and I gave them my card to pay for dinner and they said I'm sorry sir your account has been red flagged. I said oh my word what's that mean?You're kind of in shock because you pretty much know what your credit limit is and what you have on your card."

Not having the money wasn't Ressmeyer's issue.

The problem was he didn't alert his bank or credit card company that he would be traveling to different states in a short amount of time so they shut the card down.

Ressmeyer said he's not the only one this has happened to on the trip.

He explained, "We had one guy who didn't do it this year and he went to pump gas and the gas station wouldn't accept his credit card and he was getting upset like I know it's good I know I got money on it."

So how can you protect yourself?

Leonard Crain with the Better Business Bureau said just pick up the phone and tell your bank where you plan to visit.

"There's a customer service number on the back of your card and you want to just call that number and advise them."

Consumers can also write the account number and the customer service number down on a piece of paper and give it to a relative because anything can trigger a red flag.

He said, "All of those red flags are set up by your financial institution on your account. It may be the dollar amount or the purchase it or it may be the kind of purchase."

Ressmeyer said it's nice to know credit card companies and banks are keeping people safe, but he'll take the right steps from now on so he's not blocked from his own money.